Pages

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Super Antioxidant Smoothie

We've been drinking a lot of these yummy, dark purple smoothies lately. Since fresh fruit is in abundance right now, why not?

For those of you on the elimination diet, this drink is great during the two day green smoothie cleanse. Yes, I know, it's not green, but it still works, especially if you are feeling bored with the color green and need a change of pace. It does actually have a little spinach in it so we could technically call it a green smoothie, hey!

The beautiful purple color in this smoothie comes from Anthocyanins (from Greek: (anthos) = flower + (kyanos) = blue). Anthocyanins are plant chemicals that act as powerful antioxidants, in fact, they are over 40 times more potent that vitamins A and C!

Fruits and vegetables are the staff of life. They contain signaling molecules that tell our genes how to operate. So if we are sitting on the couch all day eating potato chips and drinking soda, our genes respond in a way that sets the stage for disease. But if we are drinking purple (or green) smoothies, thinking wonderful thoughts, enjoying life, and eating whole grains, beans, and other amazing whole foods, our genes say hooray, let's be healthy and vibrant!

Our family has been enjoying the berry picking season here in the Pacific Northwest. Our 1 1/2 year old twins are berry picking pros now! We recently spent some time in the mountains picking wild blueberries and huckleberries. The trip really isn't to pick a lot of berries...mountain berries are slow picking! It is more to enjoy the mountains and gorge on those amazing, antioxidant-rich wild berries (a health insurance plan of sorts).

I have been tossing a small handful of these little gems into our smoothies lately. The girls also like to pack a small container in their lunches. I wouldn't dare cook with them, they are just too precious!

Making smoothies with all of the fruit we have been picking is a great way to use up summer's harvest! We hope you enjoy this smoothie as much as we do! :)

Super Antioxidant Smoothie

I use my Vita-Mix for this but a regular blender would work too, though you may need to adjust for amounts. If you have leftovers, try pouring some into Popsicle molds. My kids love just about anything when it's frozen! Of course they love this smoothie fresh too. This is a great way to introduce greens into your child's diet without overwhelming them with the color "green" in their smoothie. Start with a little spinach and then add more as their tastes adjust. You can even add a few drops of liquid stevia to sweeten if you would like a sweeter flavor. I think the fruit is sweet enough, but you decide. I think the consistency is best if some of the fruit is frozen. I use frozen plums, blackberries, and blueberries.

Place all ingredients into a powerful blender or Vita-Mix and blend on high until smooth. Store any unused portions in a glass jar and place in the fridge for a near future, cell-protective, antioxidant party! Source: www.NourishingMeals.com

About the Author

Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University. She is the founder of Whole Life Nutrition, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them, and offers elimination diet recipes, healthy gluten-free recipes, paleo and vegan recipes, as well as tips for feeding your family a nourishing, whole foods diet. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!

19 comments:

What an amazing post, Ali! I love all the info you've shared and how you've shared it. Plus, the photos ... oh my goodness, they are fantastic! It's wonderful, too, to see you and your boys--the experienced berry pickers that they are at their young age. You know I'll be trying this recipe. I just had my green smoothie this morning. :-) Very cool ... thank you!

No huckleberries where I live, I was thinking of substituting Raspberries. This smoothie looks fabulous. I have been drinking the green smoothies now for a couple of weeks and love them. They never taste exactly the same as I use different fruits and amounts which makes every morning a surprise. Plan on starting the Elimination diet after thanksgiving (Canadian).Thanks for your great blog, I love the recipe's and I just got your book in the mail the other day... yippee I'm ready to go!

Mmm. A new smoothie. I love new smoothie recipes and I just happen to have all the ingredients (with some substitutions) to make it this afternoon...oh boy! D. really likes the mostly fruit smoothies. I am sad that she is going through a phase of turning her nose up at my favorite green smoothies. I've been going a little heavy on the greens though since I can't seem to keep up with the kale production factory in our back yard.

She'll come around again, I am sure (probably when the kale is less plentiful!).

I love the pictures in the post today! Look at those little berry pickers--they are so sweet.

What a great picture of you and the boys. You always amaze me. I could barely take care of one at a time and talk and walk and look at all you do. It's wonderful. Love the photo from the mountains too. I feel peaceful just looking at it. Thanks for this great recipe. I may be able to get my hubby to drink this one. I've been making the green smoothie and he can't get very far with it. He really doesn't like veggies and that is just too in his face with them. This one has great antioxidants and some veggie. Great! Thank you

this purp-smoothie looks wonderful.. this reminds me of the pumpkin seed-blueberry smoothie that i make every once in a while.. one of my most favorites besides the green smoothies... my friend, mette is visiting us this wkend.. she is from denmark. i cannot wait to make this smoothie for her! there are no pumpkins to be had where she is from! what a treat it will be for her!

lovely seeing you with your beautiful boys!

thank you for sharing all of your recipes! my vegetarian goddess, you are!

The plums have been amazing this year! A friend just gave me about 4 lbs from a neighbor's tree and they are just divine! I also bought a few lbs of a few different varieties from the Yakima fruit stand. The "Presidential" is new and I quite like it!

I had so many I decided to dehydrate them and they are currently turning into prunes as I type.

Welcome to my blog!

Hi! My name is Alissa Segersten and I've had a love of healthy food and cooking since the age of 10. When I was pregnant with my first daughter in 2001, I diligently began writing down my recipes because so many people would ask for them! Some of these recipes appeared in my first book, The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook. I now have 5 children and am passionate about educating them about our food system so they can make the most informed choices as they grow up and are exposed to a world of processed, chemical-laden foods. Join me in my mission of helping to support families with nourishing meals!